


Magic Tricks and Fish Stories

by honooko



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-07
Updated: 2012-01-07
Packaged: 2017-10-29 02:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/315055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honooko/pseuds/honooko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nino reads a bit more into Ohno's new hobby than he should.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Magic Tricks and Fish Stories

Nino accepted Ohno's switch of hobbies to fishing with remarkable grace; Ohno had been expecting at least a few half-joking barbs about Ohno deliberately picking something Nino couldn't join him for, followed by one soft request for reassurance that he truly hadn't intended that, right? But once Ohno put a hand in the small of Nino's back and promised that wasn't it, not at all, then Nino _seemed_ to be okay with it.

"My father taught me how to clean fish," Nino said, fussing with Ohno's sleeve. "I'll cook it for you."

Ohno nodded, but the offer slipped his mind as soon as he started thinking about bonita again.

~

"Pick a card."

"Any?"

"Right, whichever you like. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Remember it, okay? Now stick it back in wherever."

"...Wait, I think I forgot what it was."

~

He left very early in the morning; so early, some people would argue it was actually very late at night. All that really mattered was that it was dark, because that meant that once they got out on the water, the sun would start to rise and the fish would all wake up and start feeding. It was the best time to catch them; they swam around, urgently trying to fill their empty bellies, without paying much attention to the source. Hungry fish were less careful, and therefore much easier to hook.

Ohno had met the crew he fished with just by wandering down to the docks and asking if they wouldn't mind letting him tag along; he'd be happy to help if they didn't mind showing him. Something in his voice or on his face must have showed how earnest he was, because he was invited on board without a second thought. The crew had been pleased at how quickly he picked it up, and further thrilled because Ohno never complained or filled the air with mindless chatter. He just worked with them, side by side, losing track of time completely.

They didn't mind feeding him, either.

The boat pulled back into dock in the late afternoon, and for the first time, Ohno felt the tug of weariness on the edges on his mind. His arms and shoulders ached and he'd developed a considerable sunburn across the back of his neck, but he was filled with the sort of pride that only came when one devoted all one's attention to the work.

He went home and slept until his alarm went off that evening, reminding him about a photoshoot.

~

"Okay, tell me when to stop shuffling."

"..."

"...Ohno, you need to _tell me._ "

"Oh, sorry. You finished really fast."

"I'll go slower. Tell me when."

"Stop."

"Great; now pull the top card out. Don't show me!"

"Got it."

"Memorize it, and then stick it back in the deck anywhere you want."

"Here's good?"

"That's fine."

~

Nino teased him about his tan; he called him "crispy-friend Captain" and "Okinawa Oh-chan." He didn't seem to be annoyed about it, like the stylists (he made a new girl cry just by sitting in her chair; he hadn't thought it was that bad until she broke into hysterical sobs and started rummaging through her makeup bag, searching for a base palette that was even close to dark enough. He bought her lunch as an apology, on Sho's recommendation.) If anything, Nino found Ohno's new color interesting: he spent fifteen minutes straight just running his fingers up and down Ohno's dark brown arm. His light touch left goosebumps in their wake, and Ohno tried not to think about the slow drag of warmth against his skin.

"You should wear sunscreen," Nino advised him. "Or at least a wide-brimmed hat; tanning this much isn't good for your skin."

"You sound like MatsuJun," Ohno laughed.

"Well, Jun-kun's right," Nino replied, frowning slightly.

"...I'll try to remember," Ohno said.

He forgot the next day; he forgot the day after that, too. Nino didn't mention it, but Ohno thought he saw a flash of concern (and a tiny bit of hurt) sometimes when Nino looked at him.

~

"Okay, now I need a little magic. Blow on the top of the deck."

"Blow?"

"Yeah, just—blow, like that. Perfect. Now watch; I'm going to shuffle, and I want you to tell me to stop."

"Stop."

"Is this your card?"

"...I think so?"

"...I need to do shorter tricks, don't I?"

"That would probably help, yeah."

~

Nino carried his cards with him everywhere these days. Ohno knew why Nino had started learning them, but he couldn't figure out quite why Nino kept learning them. The first trick he'd shown Ohno had been almost a joke; but Ohno had been so surprised, so impressed, that he asked Nino to do it again, and then a third time. Nino had flushed with pride at Ohno's praise, and each day after that, he had a new trick to show.

It was a few weeks before Ohno realized that every time he went fishing, Nino spent that same free time improving his magic. Every trick took at least four hours to master, and just counting the number of tricks he'd already learned added up to a considerable amount. Ohno wasn't sure exactly why Nino was so determined; all he really knew was that he was almost always the first one to see each new slight-of-hand.

"Oh-chan," Nino said, peeking over the edge of Ohno's fishing magazine. "Want to see a trick?"

"Sure," Ohno agreed. Nino's face lit up, and he shuffled the cards deftly.

~

"Is this your card?"

"...No."

"Really? It's not?"

"No, I wrote it down this time. That's not it."

"Huh. Could you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Check the paper you wrote it down on. Just check."

"..."

"That's your card, right?"

"...How did you _do_ that?"

"Magic."

~

After a few months, Ohno was pretty sure he knew what was going on. Every time he went fishing, Nino learned new tricks. That much was obvious. The "why" part was a little fuzzier, but he had a general sort of idea about that, too. For every hour Ohno spent on the ocean, Nino spent an hour learning a trick that would hold Ohno's attention for five minutes the following day. It was turning into some sort of attention-currency; Nino bought Ohno's focus with magic.

He felt kind of bad about it, once he figured it out.

"I'm still working on this, sorry—"

"Nino."

"Okay, I'm going to cut the deck now, and you—whoops, hang on."

"Nino."

"...Damn, what's the next bit…"

" _Nino._ "

Nino looked up from the mess of fumbled cards in his lap. There was something almost guilty in his expression, like getting caught messing up a trick was giving something else away, something more embarrassing than dropping a shuffle.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "This one's harder."

"That's okay," Ohno said, scooting across the couch to sit side-by-side with Nino. "I've got plenty of time."

"We're going home in an hour," Nino said, sounding awfully disappointed.

"I don't have anything else planned today."

"...You're not fishing?"

"Not today."

~

Nino came home with him; Ohno had actually brought a considerably-sized trout home the night before, and he asked Nino if he wanted to keep that promise about cooking for him. Nino jumped at the chance, and they spent the ride home discussing how they wanted to eat it. Ohno had his heart set on donburi, so Nino agreed.

"Where's your mom?" Nino asked once they stepped inside.

"Visiting my sister. The baby's started talking, so she wanted to videotape it."

"Oh," Nino said, sounding a touch nervous.

"You have me all to yourself," Ohno said, smiling.

~

"And... your card is the only one that's different, right?"

"...No?"

"What? That's strange… I have an ace of hearts, ace of diamonds, ace of spades, ace of clubs, and four of hearts."

"Oh, that's it! They changed!"

"Are you surprised?"

"That one's cool, I really like it."

"...Want to see it again?"

~

Nino wasn't lying; he could clean and cook the fish quite well. Ohno thought the donburi tasted better than any he'd had in a restaurant, and Nino ducked his head shyly when Ohno said so.

"Sometimes we sashimi them on the boat," Ohno said. "I wish I could take you, I bet it'd taste even better if you did it."

Nino looked up again, surprised; Ohno wasn't sure what in his statement was so surprising. Nino took a bite of his donburi to cover the expression, and Ohno nudged him with his knee under the table.

"What?"

"...Remember when I used to come over and sit with you while you were sculpting?" Nino said.

"Yeah; you played your game and I played with clay. Why?"

"We don't—you don't do that anymore, huh."

"Not really," Ohno agreed. "I made a lot of them, I wanted a break from clay."

"Was it just the clay?" Nino asked, poking at his donburi. "That you got tired of, I mean."

Ohno frowned; Nino was being confusing. Of course he was tired of the clay. He made over 100 figurines, each one cast by hand. He'd used up pounds of clay, made a complete mess of his workspace for months on end, and given Jun reason to kidnap his hands and cover them in nailpolish because Aiba said the stylist had taken one look at his nails and started moaning in despair. He'd been tired of the same motions, the same expression, the same way of filling his time. Fishing was so completely _different_ ; that was why he'd liked it so much.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't go fishing with you," Nino said, his eyes locked on the donburi as if he was trying to make it burst into flame with his mind.

"I know," Ohno said. "You get sick."

"Is that the point?" Nino asked.

When Ohno had been working on his art, Nino used to come over and share space with him. Usually he brought his guitar and his DS; he'd alternate between the two, and Ohno found the odd exchange between DS battle music and songs being born strangely soothing. Nino never bothered him or encroached on his space; he was just _there_ , a warm constant presence in the background. Nino never demanded his attention or complained of boredom, and Ohno never tried to entertain him. They just existed, together.

But fishing was a world Nino couldn't share with him. Or at least, not without a box full of seasickness patches and a monster dose of Dramamine. Nino was stuck on land, while Ohno was free to spend more than a full solar day out on a boat with a bunch of middle-aged fishermen, working in the rhythms of the job.

Nino would probably never be able to share that with him.

"I wish you could come," Ohno said sincerely. "It'd be fun if you did."

"You'd want me to?" Nino asked, his foot nudging against Ohno's ankle.

"Sure," Ohno replied. "I always like it when you're there."

"...For a while," Nino said, "it seemed like you picked something I couldn't do on purpose."

"You think I'm meaner than I really am," Ohno whined.

Nino reached across the table and closed both his hands around Ohno's left. His hands were almost too dry; Ohno knew that Nino washed his hands a lot since learning card tricks, because clean hands meant clean cards. Ohno could feel the guitar calluses and he noticed for the first time that Nino had a bandaid wrapped around his right pinky finger, probably from a card-induced paper cut. He closed his hand around Nino's.

"I like fishing," he said. "Not because you're not around; I like it because it's fun."

"Can I come over sometimes?" Nino asked. "Even if you're not doing art?"

"Of course," Ohno said warmly, lifting Nino's hands up and dropping a kiss on his knuckles. "You could come and teach me some magic."

"I'm not sure you'd be very good at it," Nino said, smiling. "You have to remember a lot."

"Please be patient with me, teacher," Ohno said, grinning back.

~

"One... two... three!"

"...Was something supposed to happen?"

"Yes. Damn."

"...What?"

"Shh. I'm trying to make your pants disappear."

"...You could just ask."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"...I'd say the fun is in my pants."

"...Point."


End file.
